Chicago Bears Try To End Packers Mystery While Dealing With Injuries

The Chicago Bears try to end the spell Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have over them while also dealing with a pile of injuries.

For the Chicago Bears, the 2022 season has been another one filled with frustration and disappointment. They have a 3-9 record and lost five straight games. On top of it all, they are dealing with a number of serious injuries. On top of that, they are now dealing with serious injuries.

Wide receiver Darnell Mooney and safety Eddie Jackson, two players who were having pretty good seasons and are team leaders, are now out for the season. Quarterback Justin Fields, the face of the franchise, might not play due to a separated shoulder.

The Bears’ secondary is in flux. In addition to Jackson, cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker are still dealing with concussions. Additionally, there were multiple offensive linemen who were in and out of last week’s game.

Now, to make matters worse, the Bears host the hated Green Bay Packers. The Packers are dealing with injuries themselves. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers left last week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles with an oblique injury. He went into the game also dealing with a broken thumb.

However, Rodgers is confident he’ll be ready to take on the Chicago Bears. As we know, he loves playing against the Bears. He has a 24-5 career record against them, winning the last seven. He also infamously reminded the Soldier Field crowd last season that he still owned the Bears.

The Packers aren’t playing well this season. Amazingly, the Detroit Lions are above the Packers and Bears in the NFC North standings. The Packers are 4-8, one game ahead of the Bears.

Amazingly, the Bears have a better offense than the Packers. Chicago’s offense ranks 19th in the league in points scored while the Packers rank 23rd. We got used to seeing the Bears rank at or near the bottom of most offensive categories. It’s good to see them rank ahead of Green Bay.

None of that matters, though. Fields might not even get a chance to play this week. That is a big blow to the Bears offense. He helped lead the rushing attack to become the best in the NFL. With him out, two-thirds of that vaulted attack is gone — running back Khalil Herbert is on injured reserve and this will be his third game missed.

Backup Trevor Siemian is dealing with his own oblique injury. He missed practice on Wednesday while Fields was limited. Because of that, the Bears might have to start Nathan Peterman. They prepared for that occurrence by signing Tim Boyle from the Detroit Lions practice squad to be the backup in case Peterman starts.

That means the offense has to lean on David Montgomery again. He had a good game last week, recording 113 total yards from scrimmage.

It would have been nice to see how a healthy Chicago Bears offense performed against the Packers. Green Bay’s defense ranks 30th in rushing yards, 29th in yards per rush, and 20th in rushing touchdowns given up. Now we don’t know what we see on Sunday.

Rodgers has trouble connecting with his receivers this season. Without Davante Adams, no other receiver stepped up. They’ve had moments, but nothing consistent.

Now, however, Rodgers could still burn the Bears. The Bears’ defense has no pass rush this season. Chicago is tied for last in sacks and 26th in quarterback pressures. Even with a bad oblique, he’ll be okay if the Bears cannot touch him.

In addition to not feeling pressure, Rogers could again play great. Even when healthy, the Bears secondary has trouble with Rodgers.

In his career against the Chicago Bears, Rodgers completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 6,783 yards. He has 63 touchdowns against only 10 interceptions and has a 109.9 passer rating.

Once again, the Chicago Bears face the Green Bay Packers with both a struggling offense and defense. A few weeks ago fans were looking forward to seeing the Bears handle the Packers. Instead, we likely see another frustrating game with thoughts of beating them in the future.